BENGALURU: For 53-year-old Chandraiah, each day would begin before sunrise, with a quick trip to KR Market. He would purchase vegetables from the wholesale market and carefully arrange them on his pushcart parked outside Cariappa Park in Rajarajeshwari Nagar.
A native of Maddur, Chandraiah came to Bengaluru 30 years ago in search of a livelihood, and ended up as a vegetable vendor. He says he earns a modest income by selling vegetables and supports his family of four, including two school-going children. Today, his routine has come to a sudden halt due to the ongoing Safe Footpath campaign.
Chandraiah said the least the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) could have done was to provide vendors with an alternative before commencing the eviction drive.
He pointed out that the space where he sold vegetables is now occupied by vehicles. “If footpaths are occupied by vehicles, won’t pedestrians be forced to walk on roads?” he asked. “I have loans. I have to pay my house rent and my children’s school fees.”
Chandraiah’s predicament is echoed by scores of vendors across the city who complain that they have lost their livelihoods. Among them is 30-year-old Manu Shaivas, a Mandya native who ran a food cart on the footpath outside the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway Station for the past two years. “We never blocked the movement of people. We were running our business without causing inconvenience to pedestrians,” he said.
Manu said vendors selling biriyani, fruit juice, bakery items, mobile accessories, sweaters, bags and clothes have all been removed. “What happens to their livelihoods now?” he questioned.
While admitting that some vendors occupied entire footpaths, forcing pedestrians on to roads, Manu said those operating without obstructing pedestrians have also become victims of the drive. He urged the GBA to arrive at solutions where vendors are allowed to carry out their business without obstructing pedestrian movement.
On Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda’s claims that only 20% of the footpaths along major roads have been cleared and vendors were free to do business on inner roads, they said they would lose most of their business.
State president of Nava Karnataka Rajya Beedhi Badhi Vyaparigala Sangha, Keshava Murthy, said the GBA has failed to implement the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act 2014.
“Bengaluru has around two lakh vendors, but the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP) survey done at the end of 2024 has captured only around 27,000, leaving the rest to be considered unauthorised vendors. While Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana have implemented the Street Vendors Act and protected the rights of vendors, here the government has chosen to evict them all,” Murthy said.
“If vendors can be evicted overnight, why can’t the same government carry out a comprehensive survey of vendors, issue ID cards and allow them to vend?” he questioned.
While the minister has stated that the drive is legal and vendors were given three months’ notice to vacate, Murthy said, “Street vendors have to be surveyed and identified. A Town Vending Committee has to be set up. Without these, the drive is illegal. A responsible government has alternatives first.”